You’ve fallen in love with the pet from the shelter, but are you ready to take it home? Almost anyone can be seduced by a sweet kitty face or puppy dog eyes. We all love animals for the most part and cannot resist the paw that reaches out to us or that plaintive cry asking you to spring them from their confinement and be their family.
Are you ready for a pet? Are your children old enough to help with pet care chores and not intentionally or unintentionally harm it? This is important since your new pet will look for you to protect it.

Do you have other pets who may not like sharing their home? Will they attack and hurt the new pet? Will they be stressed at having another pet in the house? These are important questions since your present pets already have set in routines and feel comfortable with you and your family. All this can change with the addition of another pet.

When considering which breed would be the right one for you, ask yourself a few questions. Do I have the room for this large rambunctious animal? Will the landlord allow such a pet or any pet? Some places have breed and size limitations.
Not only must you consider the breed and the size, but their temperament and their need for lots of exercise. The dog that is active cannot spend most of their days inside in a confined place.

There are dogs that are only behaved when they get daily exercise and will you be able to make the time for it. Some dogs are rather high strung and need comforting quite often; will you be there to provide it?

It is most important that one question you must ask yourself, be answered truthfully. Can you commit to a long term for this pet so it does not end up back in the shelter again?

What about those gorgeous long-haired cats? They need daily brushing to keep them from looking like a dust mop. Can you figure time for that in your busy schedule?
There are many questions about their background and what brought them to the shelter in the first place that you should ask. Do they have behavior problems, health issues or were the last owners just not patient enough with the animal? Sometimes there were legitimate reasons why they are up for adoption, like their owner had to move to a nursing home or the owner was deployed and had no one to take care of the pet while they were gone. Whatever the reasons you should know so be sure to ask. If the dog bit someone, you probably won’t want to take a chance of that dog around small children. Does the cat hate dogs? Don’t bring that one home to your huge breed dog.

What about health problems, can you afford to take care of a pet with a serious disease which needs medication daily?

Are you ready to train a pet that has never been potty trained? It is a lot of work and often there are accidents until your pet gets it right. That may be why someone else surrendered their pet because they couldn’t get the training done.

Maybe the pet that took your heart has never had any command training wand will be difficult to handle till they learn it. Can you put up with the problems that can entail?
Other questions you will want to ask are what this pet has been eating? Ask where they have been sleeping? How long has it been since they were up for adoption, have they been adopted before and brought back? Have they had shots and been neutered?

The more questions you ask before adopting; the more likely it is the adoption will be a success.

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Jo Ann Wentzel is 67 years old and married to the same wonderful man for 49 years. She has a son and daughter who married great spouses giving her 3 grandsons. One grandson married a wonderful woman so now she finally has a granddaughter. Proud of all of them and every one is talented and smart. Lives at the Foot of the Rockies with a husband, 1 large dog and 3 fun cats. She's passionate about many things but, rescue animals is a favorite topic. Convinced they just need love and another chance.
I am a reader who loves books. The feel and smell of books delights me. Although I have embraced the Kindle and e-books. ways. Haunting used book stores is a special treat.
One special interest is pets and usually they are rescue animals who just need a chance to live and bring joy to a family.
Contact at-joannwentzel@yahoo.com